Friday Harbor

For a full week now, we've been voluntarily stuck in our San Juan home-away-from-home, Friday Harbor. Never before have we seen such fascinating sea life within a marina and we gaze at it until we almost fall into the clear water chock full of jellyfish, shrimp, anemones, leafy seaweed, crabs and lord-knows-what-those-things-are. The marina even has a resident seal named Popeye who's been here since she was a pup, taking expensive fish from marks like us who happily buy it for her from the seafood stand.

In our smooth, glorious style, we announced our arrival with a botched docking maneuver that didn't do any damage but left me wondering what our powerboat neighbor thought of us. His name is George and it turns out I shouldn't have worried because even though he and his family are living aboard for the summer, he knows next to nothing about boats and has never driven his, as far as I know. He just bought one because he wanted to, and I love that.

Before long, our kids became fast friends with his son George (Jr.?) and they invited us out on a whale watching tour for which they'd hired a captain. I'm sure they wouldn't have died, but it was fortunate for all involved that we accepted. The first hours were uneventful and while we didn't spot any whales, we saw lots of beer. About half-way through the trip we pulled into Roche Harbor for appetizers and while hunting for dock space, Skipper Ryan discovered that the controls weren't responding quite right so he scrubbed the attempt and headed for deeper water to figure out the problem which turned out to be the port propeller stuck in gear. We were afraid to turn the boat off in case it didn't come back on so we helped him anchor while the boat did slow circles in front of folks who surely thought us idiots. After a full day, we arrived back in Friday Harbor having circumnavigated the island so that Anna and I could prepare for everyone an exquisite meal of hot dogs and mac & cheese aboard Coqui. I adore having eight people crowded around the table down below; it feels like home.

We've spent loads of time wandering around town petting any canine that will let us get near because we're stricken with an acute case of pet envy. It seems every boat has a dog aboard and though barely a day goes by that I don't long for my beloved Jackie, I'm ready for a new pup in my life and we're confident we can handle a fifth creature aboard.

In shop news, I've gotten used to working from the boat during the day while Anna takes the kids on endless errands and a few adventures, which I don't begrudge because I have a superb floating office. In contrast to air conditioning and sealed windows, I just witnessed a seal catch a fish in front of towering Mt. Baker. It's all idyllically perfect, except for how much we miss our people. We love it here, but for that reason we'll be glad to come home.

XOXO

***Nerd Alert***: You can now view our position and tracks in Google Earth. The link is on the right side of the page and will be updated regularly.